The loss of Pokrovsk cost Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy much more than its capture cost Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This was written for The Sunday Times by British political scientist, lecturer and author of works on international crime and Russian security issues, one of the leading experts on Russia, Mark Galeotti, reports UNN.
Details
According to him, Pokrovsk is now effectively given to the Russians, as the city is surrounded on three sides, and Russian troops are increasingly penetrating closer to the center.
There is always a temptation to present such a large-scale operation - the battle for the city lasted 18 months - as a turning point in the war. But while it is a defeat for Kyiv, it should not be seen as a decisive turning point. The battle is significant for many reasons, reflecting a change in the operational and political context of this stage of the conflict.
The author indicates that the chances of a Ukrainian counterattack on Pokrovsk itself are currently small.
As the defenses of Pokrovsk and the neighboring city of Myrnohrad collapse, fighting in northeastern Ukraine will continue. The fortress cities of the rest of the Ukrainian part of Donetsk Oblast still stand. Western observers believe that their fall will take longer than Pokrovsk. ... However, the next campaign may not take place in northeastern Ukraine, but in Washington.
According to him, one of the reasons why Putin was willing to commit 150,000 troops to capture Pokrovsk, suffering tens of thousands of casualties, is that he is involved not only in a war with Ukraine, but also in a "battle of characters" with US President Donald Trump.
President Zelenskyy stated that Russia is afraid of decisive decisions from the US and wants to use Pokrovsk to demonstrate success on the battlefield." This is partly true, but Moscow's intention is probably not so much to avoid new US pressure as to try to regain Trump's support.
He concludes that it may seem impossible that Zelenskyy could be forced to conclude the kind of peace agreement that Trump seems to support, but Putin seems to hope that if he can enlist US help, the Ukrainians themselves will hand over the fortress cities to him, and he won't have to fight for them.
Recall
The other day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia had failed to meet Putin's deadline for capturing Pokrovsk and Kupyansk.